Loyalty

Loyalty, as with trust and communication, is a two-way street. If I am loyal to you, I expect you to be loyal to me. It’s a mutual state of being – or at least it should be.

I’ve heard a lot of references to company loyalty in my time with my current employer, and each time my first thought is, “Are you serious? Are you really expecting me to be loyal for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON?” And that’s the crux, really: there has to be a reason for a person to be loyal to anything; a person, organization, or cause, etc. Right now I really have none, except perhaps for my obligation to the clients I do work for.

But what is it about some people that makes them think that loyalty is something given for no reason? Is the fact that I am employed with a certain organization reason enough for me to remain loyal? I don’t think so. It seems to me that loyalty is NOT the default state of things, but it is something that must be earned; not with mere words but with action, and consistent action at that!

Being somewhat naive when I started, I think I did hold some sense of loyalty to my employer. After all, it was they who gave me the opportunity. I needed them more than they needed me, and in the beginning I was excited about the work and the potential for growth and advancement.

It’s all different now, and I don’t think I’m going too far in saying the company was never loyal to me – not in the slightest – and so I don’t see a reason to be loyal to them. In fact I don’t care for them at all. I don’t agree with the way they do business or treat their employees, and I definitely don’t agree with the way they treat clients. I ma underpaid, see no prospects for future growth or advancement, and have pretty much learned all I can learn working here. They possess none of the qualities that might inspire loyalty, and they’ve done nothing to earn it. There’s just no incentive.

Some readers might think I’m being a bit selfish. You’re damn right. Working in a place like this, I have to look out for me and my own, and no one else. Because you can be damn sure that’s what they’re doing.